One in Five Irish Schools Now Using Adaptive Learning

Adaptemy, the technology partner to Folens adaptive learning solution, Build Up, has revealed that 158 schools across Ireland are now using the tool.

The Adaptemy Learning Effectiveness Report shows that students used Build Up, an online learning tool for the Junior Certificate and Transition Year maths courses, to complete almost one million (993,327) maths exercises in the 2016 school year. The adaptive learning tool was predominantly used in class once a week and three times a week for homework.

‘Technology is already omnipresent in today’s students’ lives, by bringing technology into the classroom we are helping develop their skills for the future. The 2016 Learning Effectiveness Report, clearly demonstrates the positive impact educational technology is having on students’ learning experiences. As a leading educational publisher, we are continuously looking for new and innovative ways to support teachers and students. I believe we’ve achieved that with Build Up,’ says Andrew Miller, CEO at Folens.

Learning and ImprovingAdaptemy works with educational publishers to bring artificial intelligence (AI) to the classroom. The 2016 figures illustrate the power of Build Up, with students improving on average by 12.4% with each lesson revision. This 4.1% jump on the previous year (8.3%) not only demonstrates how adaptive learning is helping students perform better, it also reveals that Build Up is constantly learning and improving how it delivers course work to its users.

Conor Flynn, COO at Adaptemy, states, ‘The adoption levels for adaptive and personalised learning in Irish schools is hugely promising. Our technology is not designed to replace, but to support the teacher and their students, both in- and outside the classroom. As the technology behind Build Up continues to improve, I expect we’ll see even greater improvements in learning effectiveness.’

A Level Playing FieldReflecting the personalised nature of adaptive learning, where students learn at their own pace, the Report reveals that the difference in improvement between fee-paying and non-fee-paying schools is negligible.

Conor O’Sullivan, CEO at Adaptemy comments; ‘It is often argued that students at non-fee-paying schools are at a significant disadvantage to their fee-paying peers. Bigger classrooms, of varying aptitudes, place a significant strain on teachers, meaning those who are struggling can get left behind, and those who are ahead may become bored and disruptive.

The Learning Effectiveness Report shows our adaptive and personalised learning solution levels the playing field. By challenging each student at a pace that’s appropriate to them, they remain engaged and only move on to more complex modules when they’re ready. Moreover, teachers can see in real time, where their students are having difficulty, allowing them to dedicate time to those that need it most, thus making even the largest class more manageable.”

This success in supporting the teacher is apparent. Eight out of 11 teachers say they would recommend Build Up to a friend or colleague.

International BenchmarkThe significant improvements recorded by students using Build Up haven’t gone unnoticed. Adaptemy’s work with Folens is setting the international standard for developing and implementing truly adaptive and personalised learning solutions. Emulating its success in Ireland, it is now the most popular adaptive learning product in the Spanish market, and has been used in schools across Germany, Finland, Bulgaria and Slovakia.

The company’s domination of the European market has also garnered interest from further afield. Most recently, Adaptemy announced a partnership to plans to launch an adaptive learning solution in Mexico this September, with name publisher, and is in negotiations with a number of other leading educational publishers across Africa, Asia and America.